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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | We will prove the poor can access healthcare: Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya-Khomba Singh

We will prove the poor can access healthcare: Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya-Khomba Singh

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published Published on Jun 25, 2012   modified Modified on Jun 25, 2012
-The Economic Times

If Dr Devi Prasad Shetty's vision comes true, most Indians will have access to quality healthcare. Dr Shetty says the cost of healthcare in India can come down by 50% in the next 5-10 years, and this will be forced on the hospitals by the government if service providers do not get their act together. "If you are going to say the cost of a heart surgery is 3 lakh for a rich man, it is fine. But for somebody who has sold his house, it is unacceptable," he says. 

Shetty, who pioneered the low-cost treatment model, said the lower cost is achievable if hospitals increased the number of procedures by 1,000 times. The volume will be generated by the poor who cannot afford the current treatment cost, but will soon have a smart card with the health insurance provided by government. 

Asked if this was a utopian idea, Shetty points to the trend in the US. "If you want to predict the future of healthcare, look at what happened in the US. Whatever happens there, happens here after 10 years." 

In the US, the government and private insurers are the biggest providers of healthcare, who also dictate the cost of treatment. In India too, the government will become the largest health insurance provider and hospitals will have to provide treatment within the cap provide by the medical insurance policy. "You have no choice. Both private and public hospitals can't say that they won't treat the scheme patient." In a stern warning to his peers, he says that the private sector has failed to serve the needs of the society. "Ifyou have to survive, you will have to change. The entire rule of this industry will change," he cautions. 

In the US and Europe, elections are contested on the issue of healthcare. When politicians realise that their coming back to power depends on the policy of healthcare, they will also, to some extent, become unreasonable. "They will bring about lot of regulation to take care of the poor," Dr Shetty says. 

The Indian healthcare sector is projected to double its size to $100 billion by 2015, according to rating agency Fitch. But unlike developed markets, more than 80% Indians pay for medical expenses from their own pocket and medical cost is one of the main reasons of people going into debt. 

The cardiac surgeon says the move will also benefit the industry if it adopted the change by becoming efficient. "Who needs marble flooring and central air-conditioning in hospitals? People think air-conditioning prevents infection, but that is the cause of infections in most hospitals. The best sanitation in a hospital is sunlight and fresh air," he adds. 

He cited his company's example of building a 150-bed hospital in Mysore for 30 crore at a fifth of the industry's cost. "It has no air-conditioning but good cross-ventilation. Government also gave land at a low cost," he said. 

He says that while there is a market for luxury hospitals because there are people who can afford it, one should not plan one's business focusing on them because the bulk of the business will come from the poor. 

Many hospitals have realised that our costs are unrealistic and they had to do something about it. If the industry does not regulate itself, policymakers are not going to keep quiet. "The government will also attack. We don't have the moral right to expect the government to help us," he said. 

Dr Shetty is convinced that India will prove to the world that healthcare can be separated from affluence. "After 10 years, we will still have millions of people living withno proper drainage system, but will have access to quality healthcare. This country isgoing to prove that youdon't need to be rich toavail healthcare." 

He says the government should continue to provide land at concessional rates to hospitals despite some undesired outcomes. Several state governments have given land at hugely subsidised rates to companies and trusts for building healthcare centres on the condition that certain percentage of the hospitals will provide free treatment to the poor. However, it was found that many hospitals did not. 

He urged the government to have a strong regulatory body to monitor private hospitals to ensure that they carry out what they had committed and deserving ones avail the provision. "Just because you can't monitor does not mean that the concept is wrong. Clearly spell out the deliverables, and hospitals will have to deliver." 

Dr Shetty plans to replicate his low-cost model globally. In a step towards that, his organisation is setting up a 150-bed hospital in the Cayman Islands, and in Miami through a joint venture with a local firm. In India, it plans to set up hospitals in all Indian towns with a population of 5-10 lakh. 

Narayana Hrudayalaya currently runs 5,500 beds across 14 hospitals in 11 cities, all under one brand. Dr Shetty says the family has no intention of diluting or selling its 75% stake in the company. 

"We are eccentric people. We are in the business because we want to help the underprivileged and the cost of healthcare to come down. For that, I need the freedom."

The Economic Times, 25 June, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/we-will-prove-the-poor-can-access-healthcare-dr-devi-prasad-shetty-narayana-hrudayalaya/articleshow/143

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